The total prize money is 24 million. Among the professional gamers participating in the professional league "RAGE Shadowverse Pro League 21-22" of the competitive online trading card game "Shadowverse", there is a player who is challenging two-swords with a professional mahjong player.
He is Rob, the team leader of the Nippon Television Group's professional e-sports team "AXIZ". He asked Rob about his passion as he began his career as a two-sword fighter.
*eSports = The name of competitive sports competitions using computer games and video games
*Shadowverse = Competitive online trading card game for smartphones, tablets, and PCs distributed by Cygames Inc.
* "RAGE Shadowverse Pro League 21-22" = Shadowverse e-sports professional league established in May 2018. A total of 8 teams (as of 2021) operated by companies and professional sports teams will compete in the 1st season (May-September) and the 2nd season (October-February), with the first place in each season aiming for the league championship. fight
Born in Osaka Prefecture on June 15, 1994. Type O. Dropped out of Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University. As a professional gamer, he signed a contract with Nippon Television Group's "AXIZ" card game department "Shadowverse" in September 2018 and contributed to the team's first victory in the "RAGE Shadowverse Pro League 19-20 season League Championship". The player's name Rob comes from Rob Gronkowski, who he respected in the American Football League (NFL). From March 2021, he is also a professional mahjong player who belongs to the Japan Professional Mahjong Association.
"I played baseball for 10 years in elementary, middle and high school, and I joined the American football club in college to try a new sport, but I couldn't continue due to chronic shoulder pain. My passion for sports, which had nowhere to go, led me to games and mahjong.”
“At first, I didn't try playing card games because I like them. It was Shadowverse."
“I was just a college student playing games to kill time and thought it was fun, but I was inspired by the establishment of the Pro League in 2018, and started preparing to become a Shadowverse pro gamer.”
"It's a brain game like mahjong, shogi, and go. In mahjong, it's a game that repeats picking and cutting, and like mahjong, there is an element of luck, so it's not like the strong person wins every time. But it's a game where the stronger player wins. The design is beautiful, and the explanation of the rules is thorough, so it's easy to play."
“At the beginning of the league, four teams announced their intention to participate in the competition. In order to prepare for times when the number of players increases or there is a replacement of players, I devoted almost all of my time to playing, other than eating and sleeping, in order to rank high in the game rankings that compete for points on a monthly basis. We have accumulated achievements such as all of them.”
“Six months after the launch of the professional league, two new teams, AXIZ from the Nippon Television Group and Yokohama F. That is the reason why
“In my second season as a pro, I made it to the finals of the playoffs. There was also a scene called, and I was very depressed that I could not show my strength on such a stage.”
"But in the professional world, it's a free contract because you didn't get good results. It can't be helped if you're blamed for your mistakes, and I thought I was more or less accepting the jeers, but I wonder if I was dragging it down and even more. From the start of the next season, I continued to make mistakes and lost games.I felt a sense of urgency that I had to change something, and when I made a mistake in practice or in a game, I started to analyze why it happened. Did"
"Did you make a mistake simply because you didn't know? Did you make a mistake because you couldn't come up with it? Was it because you didn't practice the pattern that you couldn't come up with? Or was it because you didn't have enough concentration on the day? When I tried to pinpoint the cause of my mistakes, I found that in my case, I tended to lack concentration due to tension."
“There is also a luck element involved, so there are games where you can win if you score 100 points, and there are games where you can’t win even if you score 99 points. I have no choice but to do my best and focus on getting a score close to 100. Since I started trying to do my best, it became harder to sway and I made fewer mistakes.My goal is to win. I came to the realization that if I set the goal of doing my best, instead of just trying to do something, it will lead to victory.”
"After I was able to switch my way of thinking, I made fewer mistakes and was able to win in a row, won the team championship that season, advanced to the championship, and won the annual champion for the first time.In my career as a player. Now I think that losing streaks in the playoff finals had a great significance for me and my life.”
"I started playing mahjong in earnest when I was in my second year of college, after I left the American football club. While playing Shadowverse, I went to a mahjong house almost every day. A mahjong game. I was watching the video, so I thought I'd like to challenge the world of professional mahjong one day."
"I definitely became aware of becoming a pro after meeting Mr. Yonsu and Manabu Yajima of the Japan Professional Mahjong Association who came to a collaboration event between Shadowverse pros and professional mahjong players. I heard a lot of stories about the mahjong world, and I took the pro test of the Japan Professional Mahjong Association to realize my dream as a student while being a professional gamer."
"I get set with professional seniors to gain new knowledge, read books, watch league games and M League game videos, and play games such as Jakukon and Tenpo. ”
“At Shadowverse, I have been honing my skills while exchanging opinions with professional gamers and strong amateur players that I trust as I accumulate actual battles. I don't have one, and I'm currently in the stage of looking for a master, but I want to do my best so that my efforts will take shape as a mahjong pro."
"I haven't had a technical life, but people who support me as a professional gamer, and people who watch the professional league and who like mahjong, want to join the new professional world. I received a lot of positive feedback about taking on the challenge.”
"On the contrary, the attitude of searching for the best that I learned in Shadowverse is very useful in mahjong, and I've become able to stabilize my mental state no matter what situation I'm in."
“If there are more famous professional gamers like Daigo Umehara, the awareness of e-sports will increase and the market will grow, so I will work hard to become such a player. And what should we do in order for Shadowverse and the e-sports world to be widely recognized?In order to tackle such things, we have to leave an overwhelming result. I am thinking"
“As a professional mahjong player, it is also my goal in life to spread mahjong in the same way as esports. I would like to stand on the stage of the M League.”
"I'll do my best and wait for my destiny.I'll do everything I can do in Shadowverse and mahjong and wait for my destiny.Whether I was able to do my best without being influenced by my emotions.That's all I use as my evaluation criteria. It's a game that involves luck."
The global population of e-sports players is said to be about 130 million. In Japan, not only professional leagues for online trading card games, but also professional leagues for fighting games and sports games are popular, and national high school esports championships are held.
"The greatest attraction of e-sports is that it is a communication game that can be enjoyed with the same feeling regardless of age, gender, or generation. Both mahjong and Shadowverse are the best ways to devote your life and all your time. It's both a game and a competition," says Rob, who is simultaneously making new history in both professional worlds.
◎Photo: Shizuka Sata (Mahjong Watch)/Interview Composition: Sumio Fukuyama (Jakusei Hour)
Rob(Rob_G_SV)Twitter
RAGE Shadowverse Pro League
AXIZ profile
